Tongue Tie in Infant

[Paige]

My baby seems to have a tongue tie. He’s able to nurse and is growing well and I have no pain, but it may be why my letdown is persnickety and my milk not as high as normal. The main issue I see is that he’s constantly sucking air when he nurses and spits up a ton. He is super noisy when nursing and is always pulling off and on to try to relatch. He’s uncomfortable with all the air in his belly, has trouble sleeping, and he needs to eat all the time b/c of the spitting up and for comfort.

 

Would/have you clipped the tongue tie of a baby who is fat and healthy? He’s 6 weeks old. The doctor noticed it when he was 2 days old and said she’d just see how he handled if. At 2 weeks she said it wasn’t a problem if I wasn’t in pain and he was thriving.

[sangtarah]

My last 2 babies have had tongue tie. I pushed for both of them to be clipped while at the hospital, because of too many stories of pediatricians taking a wait and see approach. I would try to find a way to have it clipped.

[Guinevere]

I had 2 with a bad tongue tie, and both of them got much better around 6 months.  I didn't have either clipped, and I'm happy with that decision.  

[mamakelly]

I had 3 kiddos with a tongue tie. I have one as well. The earlier my kiddos had it clipped the easier it was for them to learn to breastfeed correctly. I’m looking into having mine clipped. It’s super annoying, and getting harder to deal with. Try calling around to lactation consulatants in your area. Most will know of a doctor who will clip it. We paid out of pocket for our kids procedures.

Edited November 22, 2017 by mamakelly

[Crimson Wife]

My Articulation Disorders professor provided evidence that untreated tongue tie can cause articulation problems so I would absolutely have it done and ASAP. All 3 of my kids had it and the one who had it clipped as a toddler rather than an infant needed speech therapy for articulation disorder (my youngest needs speech therapy for mixed expressive-receptive language delay but her articulation is fine).

[freesia]

I agree with CW. My boys had tongue tie.  The oldest was clipped, the younger one was wait and see.  The younger one had articulation problems and still can get "slurry" if he doesn't do his tongue exercises.  With my oldest, it was a quick cut and then right on the breast for comfort--totally easy.

[Rosie_0801]

I had my son's done, because he was struggling to latch on properly. He cried more when I changed his nappy than when having the tongue tie snipped.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I chose not to, BUT I also did not BF.

 

 

[Beth S]

And, surprisingly, there are skilled dentists who can take care of this.

My granddaughter has had lots of problems until they determined it was a tongue tie problem.

[Selkie]

I just posted about this recently on another tongue tie thread, so apologies for being repetitive. My tongue is tied and it has never caused me any problems with articulation or anything else. I didn't even realize it was tied until a doctor pointed it out when I was in my late teens. Some doctors are insistent that all tongue ties cause problems and should be clipped, but that hasn't been my experience. 

[Alice]

And, surprisingly, there are skilled dentists who can take care of this.

My granddaughter has had lots of problems until they determined it was a tongue tie problem.

 

 

I would check with insurance before you go to the dentist. I’ve had a lot of patients who had the procedure denied by insurance when done by a dentist but it’s sometimes covered if done by ENT. I think the reason is that it’s classified as a “medical procedure†and then neither dental insurance or medical insurance will cover it when done by the dentist. I’m not saying that dentists aren’t capable, it’s a pretty simple procedure...just that you might get stuck with a big bill. 

[mamakelly]

I had one of my kids clipped by an oral surgeon. It was covered by dental insurance.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes I would push to  have it done.  I had to have it finally done for my six year old and it involved anesthesia and the whole works which would have been unnecessary if done as an infant.  I had to have it done for her because it affected her speech. 

[Sara in AZ]

DD 15 had her tongue tie clipped last summer because it, along with her tongue thrust, was causing problems in her orthodontic treatment. The ortho did it, and the procedure wasn’t a big deal. But I really wish someone had noticed and suggested it to me back when she was an infant and nursing terribly.

[caedmyn]

I would be hesitant if they had no apparent issues. I know there can be pronlems done the road, but revision is not a guarantee that the tie won't reattach. All my boys have posterior ties, and only the youngest's was corrected. Second youngest's shoyld have been as he bit me constantly and my supply tanked when he was about 6 mo, but my health tanked around the same time too so idk if the supply drop was due to that or his inefficient nursing. He does have speech issues but his SLP thinks he would have anyway--some of the sounds he has trouble with require very little tongue movement.

 

My youngest needed his done due to reflux and painful nursing. He was 9 weeks when it was done with a laser. I did the stretches faithfully and it reattached. We had it redone, kept doing stretches, and it reattached again. It was a nightmare. I gave up after that. He's still tied but the reflux went away and nursing stopped hurting. I guess it was worth it but I hope to never, ever do that again.

[aaplank]

My daughter had her tongue clipped by a dentist when she was only a few days old. It was a very quick procedure. I held her while it was done and immediately nursed afterwards.

 

While it did solve a lot of the nursing issues, I still had to take her for craniosacral therapy because the muscles in her jaw and mouth didn't develop properly in the womb because of the tongue tie. She couldn't suck properly. After one visit of craniosacral therapy, she was fixed. It was a miracle!

[Crimson Wife]

Insurance covered all 3 of my kids' frenulectomies. 2 were done by ENT's and I'm not sure what type of doctor did my oldest's because we were an Army family at the time and didn't have any choice in provider.

[kiwik]

I just posted about this recently on another tongue tie thread, so apologies for being repetitive. My tongue is tied and it has never caused me any problems with articulation or anything else. I didn't even realize it was tied until a doctor pointed it out when I was in my late teens. Some doctors are insistent that all tongue ties cause problems and should be clipped, but that hasn't been my experience.

So is mine and a lot of the people in my family. The only one who had his cut was the only one with speech issues that required treatment. I imagine he would have had speech issues either way but the cutting didn't prevent them.

[Mergath]

I would have it done. My older dd had one that wasn't diagnosed until she was a toddler, and it caused some speech problems for her. I have one myself that was never treated, and it's harder for me to say some sounds. It isn't just a breastfeeding issue.

[klmama]

My oldest was tongue tied. Our family doctor clipped it in her office a few days after dc's birth.  Interestingly, her nurse was about 35 and had just recently had hers clipped.  She was working on improving articulation issues, but she was finding it hard to relearn.  She was very enthusiastic about my baby having it done as an infant.  

[KatherineNaomi]

My daughter was tongue tied. She was nursing and growing well but it was somewhat painful for me. We were referred to an ENT who said we could clip it then (she was a couple months old) but would probably have to come back for further surgery when she was 2 or we could wait a few months until she was older and do the surgery and be done with it. We waited and she had surgery when she was 5 months old. I was worried she wouldn’t be able to nurse right away after surgery and pumped a lot ahead of time but she ended up nursing just fine. Here’s what hers looked like... https://flic.kr/p/55Brgu

[samba]

Our foster baby just had his tongue tie corrected last week! At his newborn appointment, the doctor said he noticed the TT and wanted us to keep an eye on baby's feeding (bottle). Baby did have feeding issues initially but they seemed to have resolved (althought baby was always gassy and kind slurpy/gulpy with the bottle). At his 10 week appt, the other doctor in the practice said it looked like a pretty significant TT and referred us to an ENT. The ENT said it definitely would affect speech and should be done. 

 

It was done at 12 weeks old. Baby handled it well...it was quick. He was able to take a bottle or a pacifier right away.